Al-Sadd fall to Sanna Khanh Hoa and lose top spot

Al-Sadd lost the opportunity to finish on top of Group D at the AFC Futsal Club Championship after losing 2-3 to Sanna Khanh Hoa of Vietnam in the match played at the Bangkok on Sunday. The result means that Al-Sadd will now face Naft Al-Wasat of Iraq, toppers of Group B, in the quarterfinal match to be played from 2:45 PM Thailand time on Tuesday.

The Wolves started the game with the following lineup: Abdullah Salem, Amro Mohsen, Mohamed Ismail, Saleh Al-Shamiya and Abdullah Saleh

The match began at a quick pace with Al-Sadd looking to establish their domination. However, a defensive mistake let the Vietnamese side take an early lead in the seventh minute. Tran Van shot past the keeper Ali Al-Ajmi and put the ball in the lower right corner to give his side a 1-0 lead.

Al-Sadd attempted to find a goal of their own but were put off by the efforts of the Vietnamese defence until the 16th minute, when a brilliant move involving Mohammed Ismail, Saad Bilal and Abdullah Salem finished with Salem scoring the equalizer. It was his third goal of the tournament.

The reply from Sanna Khanh Hoa was quick. In a matter of seconds, Khac Chi sent a powerful shot into the Al-Sadd goal to give the Vietnamese the one-goal advantage again. The teams went into halftime with Al-Sadd trailing 1-2.

Al-Sadd came out after the break with renewed desire to make their mark but despite dominating from the start, failed to score. The opposing keeper Nguyen was particularly brilliant, keeping out a fine effort from Mohammed Ismail.

With the game heading towards its end, Al-Sadd finally managed to equalize once again. In the 38th minute, Ahmed Mullah sent a beautiful pass to captain Mohammed Ismail who made no mistake to finish and make the scores 2-2. However, the Vietnamese were quick to respond once again and Quoc Bao scored their third goal of the game at the very end to give his team a 3-2 win.

Technical meeting & press conference for the quarterfinal

The technical meeting for the quarterfinalist teams will be held at the Four Wings Hotel in Bangkok. The kits for the teams will be decided at the meeting in addition to giving any further details. The coaches will also be holding press conferences to talk about the quarterfinal matches.